Two Jefferson City women have been charged with the sale of narcotics.
Amanda Thomas, 26, of 5121 South Brooks Drive, is charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, resisting arrest and unlawful use of drug paraphernalia.
Megan Tyler, 28, of 1424 E. Miller St., is charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, unlawful use of drug paraphernalia and endangering the welfare of a child.
Jefferson City Police Department probable cause statements show the two were stopped Friday night in a vehicle, driven by Tyler, in the 1200 block of East Miller Street, for driving with an expired license plate.
Due to a strong odor of marijuana, officers ordered the two women to step out of the vehicle.
Thomas, who was riding in the front seat, reached down and removed a bag of marijuana from a backpack on the floorboard of the vehicle and attempted to conceal it before an officer confiscated it.
The bag contained six individually packaged smaller bags with a total weight of 35 grams.
Two children, ages 6-8, riding in the back seat of the vehicle were released to the custody of a babysitter.
A further search of the vehicle found marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the center dash console between the driver and passenger seats and cash totaling nearly $1,050 that was folded and separated in a manner consistent with the sale of narcotics.
Numerous items of narcotics were hidden in children’s bags found in the vehicle.
Later, early Saturday morning, authorities learned three children were left unattended at Tyler’s residence on East Miller.
The children had been left by themselves for six hours after the two women were arrested. After a search warrant was served there, a “large†amount of narcotics, a loaded handgun and multiple items of drug paraphernalia were found.